Calif. health exchange processes 16K applications

Paul Torrigino, a new applicant for health insurance, said he felt a sense of relief upon completing his application.

According to the state's health exchange, he's one of the thousands to have signed up through the state's health care exchange, Covered California. It has processed 16,300 insurance applications during the marketplace's first five days of operation.

“The response has been nothing short of phenomenal," said Peter Lee, the director of Covered California.

Covered California officials released the figures Tuesday in the first of what they say will be a series of weekly updates.

An additional 27,300 California households have partially completed applications. Applications can cover more than one person, such as a spouse or child.

Officials are not yet releasing information about how many applicants have selected a plan or paid their portion of the premium.

Tuesday's update came as the federally run exchanges remain hampered by technical problems that are slowing the enrollment process.

Lee acknowledged that the process has not been perfect.

“We’ve reduced the wait time for people to get through on the phone," Lee said."Again, Day 1, (it was a) long wait time. By Friday, a wait time of about 4 minutes. We want to get them down to 30 seconds.”

Lee said the agency handled more than 59,000 telephone calls.

"If I break a leg or have a heart attack or need some kind of medical procedure, I wouldn’t lose my life savings or my house," Torrigino, a new applicant, said.

Copyright 2013 by KCRA.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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